Families abandon kids in Greek debt crisis

Greece's spiraling debt crisis has left some families so poverty-stricken they have been driven to abandon their children because they can no longer afford to keep them.

A few weeks before Christmas a kindergarten teacher in Athens found a note written by the mother of a four-year-old student saying she was abandoning her child, the BBC reported.

"I will not be coming to pick up Anna today because I cannot afford to look after her," the mother wrote.

"Please take good care of her. Sorry. Her mother."

Other cases of abandonment are being reported by charities and child welfare groups across the country.

Father Antonios, who runs a youth centre in Athens for the poor, told the BBC he had found four children left on his doorstep, including a baby just days old.

"They say they do not have any money or shelter or food for their kids, so they hope we might be able to provide them with what they need," he said.

One mother contacted by the network said she was driven to leave her child Anastasia, 8, because she could not find work for a year.

She finally found a job in a cafe but makes just 20 euros ($AU25) a day.

While families suffer under the country’s ailing economy, some hope may be in sight.

Greek officials last night announced the country was closer to forging a deal with bank creditors to wipe out 100 billion euros from its huge debt.

Designed to save the country from bankruptcy, the deal could be settled as early as next week.

The eurozone in October reached preliminary agreement to accord Greece a 130-billion-euro rescue package to help keep the government afloat until it can return to borrowing on the markets at affordable rates.

However, this package is contingent on Greece reaching a deal with private investors to accept at least a 50 per cent loss on the Greek debt they hold, wiping some 100 billion euros off Athens crushing sovereign debt of over 350 billion euros.

Greece has a maturing debt of 14.43 billion euros that must be repaid on March 20.